12 percent of UW-Madison students lack food
New program helps college students find nutritious food
MADISON, Wis. – It’s one thing to be hungry because you haven’t eaten. It’s another to be hungry because you don’t have anything to eat.
That’s the reality for a growing number of college students, 12 percent here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the impetus behind the university’s new partnership with Second Harvest.
‘Helpful Harvest’ is a pilot, three-month program that allows students to choose from food options online. It’s not just nonperishable items you’d find at a typical food pantry: Fruits, vegetables, and frozen meat are all available, too.
For the pilot, people shop online in advance and can then pick up the food anonymously at the Union South lobby or the 9th Floor of 333 East Campus Mall (Financial Aid floor). Anyone can sign up online for food, no questions asked.
July and August dates for the campus are yet to be determined.
The East Madison YMCA and Goodman Community Center are also participating. The pilot is being funded by Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States.
Approximately 20 percent of students at four-year institutions are food insecure, meaning they lack reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food, according to the 2016 “Hunger on Campus”national study. That number nearly triples among students of color and first-generation college students. A 2016 UW–Madison Campus Climate Survey shows that 12 percent of students indicated that they could not always afford sufficient food and housing while at UW–Madison.
For a list of campus resources, click here. For more about Helpful Harvest, click here.
Christina Lorey, Channel 3000